Children's Books

In My Temptations, Kemonde Wangmonde narrates the story of a young man, Victor Nyiko, who rises from being a nonentity to a prosperous police officer. Encouraged by one of his teachers, the young Victor Nyiko seeks to become a teacher himself. But before he can sit for the entrance examination to get into a teachers’ training college, his role model leaves the teaching service. Victor’s father, who would rather see his son become a soldier just like him, forbids him from pursuing his dream.

As the title implies, “The Naming of Femi’s Brother,” is about a child-naming ceremony. The Aladetan’s are not only Yoruba but also members of the Bahá’í religion. But their religious persuasion does not make them discard their traditional way of naming their children.

A graduate of Chemistry, Julius Sseremba started writing in 2002. The Ugandan author has written articles and short stories for local newspapers in his home country. His debut book, By the African Fire was first published in 2006 by Mallory Publishers, as part of a new fiction series in conjunction with the British Council, that sought to showcase innovative work from young writers in Africa.

The sixteen short stories featured in this collection (published in 2010) come from various corners of Africa and beyond. Contributors include renowned authors like Ryda Jacobs (South Africa), Moses Isegawa (Uganda), Grace Ogot (Kenya), Sefi Atta (Nigeria), and many others.

The Canoe’s Story, written by Ghanaian author Meshack Asare, is a children’s book, told from the perspective of a tree. This richly illustrated story recounts the tree’s journey from forest to ocean, and the work that the fishermen put into turning the tree into a canoe.

In the Twelfth Heart, we meet Mercy Tiwaa Gyemfi, the narrator, a young girl who has just arrived in Accra to attend St Felice Mixed Senior High School. Her choice of school is mainly driven by a desire to escape Aboagyekrom, the poor, idle, uninteresting village that until now has been her home.